LACURE . .... \... ,#E EXPERIENCE COMPANY Simply the most beautiful villas on the planet... www.lacure.com Private Villa Rentals and Holiday Homes in Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean '.NCE 1979 ;,1 800 387 2726 :', I ,,' i n f 0 @ I a cur e . com It's not easy to get here, but it's harder to leave. <<-' ., Ojo; . : .:-;-'...."'::' : .-" . ...... .>-._.:-..;. :;<{- ,.. ^".... -9.i _ ...g "'i v.. . - :--"'* " '" j=, ::-,NeVlS :;I , ;-: ./f UafJ; q . : .. '. - ,. 1'/ Förfuore information on -_..---.-....' . --this tranquil tropical island, , , , ,W ;'>X",""'" , ".. Call1-866-55-NEVIS (toll free) or visit our web site at www.nevisisland.com .;J' ci T. ," . iitX' lmPQssiõ'íy romantic privaféislaod resort; :'i: ;:r . u. . with yachts for Grenadines'''''<''''', J. sailawayoptions." 1f . "."_ u',. ,* ?f'4' :t4 M @,,", , ' : '; ", ,, '/ , ?:, ,, ' ': "': , ,-,,;rfl , '::;' .. , ':;':' , '. , ' , . , k, ". Jf:. 0 :., .,.. J /!:' : f:'. , " ' -' /- , ',' AI . "' ',' , . '- P, ;'." t. ' t, <'{:"!, ': Brochure: Ralph Locke Islands, Inc. Call: 800/223-1108 Nationwide & Canada or cal.1 your Travel Agent ESCAPE TO TRANQUILITY Beautiful, small inn on a plantation on Caribbean island of Bequia, St. Vincent Grenadines. Beach, glorious views! SPRING ON BEQUlA, P.O. Box 19251, Minneapolis MN 55419 612-823-1202 www.springonbequia.com I Explore Turkey with Turkish Scientists & Specialists Dery Adil Sk. 88/7 Nar Apt. 80200 Te vikiye Istanbul/Turkey - nn Tel: +902122489636 "'-----' Fax: +90 212 2461936 E-mail: petenturizm@petentour.com Web: HYPERLINK ''http://www.petentour.com'' www.petentour.com 'J -.::.:. -.' Log on to NewY orkerSmartTravel.com for a chance to win Apple 7 s 10GB iPod@ digital music player. (I) "'C c: C'a - (I) .. > 0:: <t Q:: LLI Z - I- - S p e cia I A d vert i sin g S e c t ion which has a pueblo-like structure as brilliantly hued as the sky and sea, an exclusive marina, and a Robert Trent Jones golf course. But slightly more private is the smaller, elegant Hotel Pitrizzi. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, the key to paradise is finding an island with coves, beaches, and mountain villages that are far removed from the crowds. Ronnie Liadis, who visited Greece often as a child and now arranges travel there (greeceexperts.com), claims to have found it all on Zakynthos, off the west coast of the Peloponnese. Of her last trip there, in May, she recalls a visit to deserted Navagio beach, where its namesake shipwreck lies in the crystalline water. Zakynthos also lures, she says, with spectacular restaurants in the little villages, other sandy beaches you can get to only by boat, and vistas of sheer cliffs from winding mountain roads. As executive chef at New York's Greek restaurant Molyvos, Jim Botsacos has travelled in Greece on numerous food quests and especially lauds the wineries on Santorini. But for his own most romantic getaway, he chose to stay on Crete at the magnificently private Elounda Mare. Here the honey- mooners woke up to the sea right outside their beachside bungalow and could stroll out to their own garden and swimming pool. Forays to local restaurants enhanced the respite, Bostsacos recalls, with "friendly people and .. " great CUISIne. For the Botsacoses, as for many European travellers, the island stay was the relaxing finale to rounds of sightseeing on the mainland. Two countries where this kind of combo is especially compelling are Croatia and Spain. In Croatia, visitors to the walled Renaissance city of Dubrovnik enjoy not only an unsurpassed sense of reliving history, but also views of the Adriatic so sparkling and blue as to pull the imagination out to sea. Venture up the coast to Split, where there is another architectural trove ripe for exploration and a ferry to the island of Hvar, which has its own Renaissance remains. From Spain, the Balearics beckon-Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. And there's nothing like visiting them by private yacht, especially with a guide to usher you to the inland villages, historic sites, and golden beaches that remain undisturbed. Heritage Tours, which specializes in trips to Spain, chose to work with a boatbuilder to design a six-cabin yacht, for one to twelve passengers, ideal for island touring. A one-week itinerary winds to the less-frequented parts of Mallorca such as La Cartuja de Valldemosa, the former Carthusian monastery, where George Sand lived with her lover Frédéric Chopin, as well as to quieter Menorca. With two weeks (0 spare, you can travel in style to Ibiza and Formentera too. Either way, it's an opportunity to cap off the sights of Madrid and Barcelona with a relaxing sojourn, one that allows you to sleep in your own sea-cradled cabin at night and awake to the islands' sunlit stories. I sland dreams likely shift with the seasons, beginning in winter with the Caribbean and the Pacific, moving to the Mediterranean in spring, and then in summer perhaps to northern Europe and Canada. Somewhere there's always a comfort zone waiting, lapped by water all around. (Nao Hauser is a New York-based .freelance 'writer.) >> > NEWSLINE JAMAICA-Barbadian coral-stone walls, French terra-cotta floors, landscaped Indonesian-style jungle gardens, ponds stocked with tropical fish, and ocean views where the Roaring River meets the Caribbean in St. Ann's Bay, help make the beachfront Roaring Pavilion Villa & Spa one of LaCURE's premier villas. FIJI-Through March 31st, Qantas Vacations offers a deluxe South Pacific experience at the five-star eco-friendly Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort in the backwater port town of Savusavu on Vanua Levu, Fiji s second largest island Amenities include flight-seeing tours, gourmet meals, and four massages per person.